first-person shooter

opinion For years now, Infinity Ward and Treyarch's Call of Duty franchise has been the big bully on the playground, commanding millions of day-one sales with each new installment. Even piracy can't slow down the speed at which Call of Duty is swallowing the market, pushing every other worthwhile competitor in the most popular video game genre down to steerage class.

After knocking the Halo franchise to its knees in 2007 with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, 2011 may be the year COD needs to shape up. Will gamers choose the eye-catching Battlefield 3 over their current FPS fare of choice? The heart-stopping Battlefield 3 trailer that debuted at last week's Game Developers Conference suggests that could well be, but will its prioritization of the PC version kill its chances?

Gamers can expect an intensified version of the current Iraq conflict with this game, which is set in 2014 in the parched cities and barren wastelands of the Middle East. Focused on the chaos caused by the PLR terrorist group, it's your mission to stabilize the region from a recent rise in terrorist attacks.

The waiting game is a dangerous one in game development, particularly when catering to the hard-core class that chews through first-person shooter games like they were candy. Tantamount to a first-person shooter's bankroll is the quality of the graphics engine, and developer DICE has wisely bided its time in fine-tuning its Frostbite 2.0 engine for the past three years. When the preview for Battlefield 3 faded to black at GDC and on millions of computer monitors worldwide, the impression was virtually unanimous: expectations for this game went through the roof. … Read more

It's been a huge week for iOS gaming. Yesterday witnessed the arrival of a dazzling new Star Wars title, and today I've got quick takes on five more noteworthy new games--starting with a just-in-time movie tie-in.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4  A near-perfect replica of the outstanding console game, Lego Harry Potter (which I previewed last week) loses almost nothing in its transition to the small screen. (And for now, it's only for small screens: the game requires iOS 4.1 or later, which leaves iPads out.)

Alas, there's no option for cooperative play, and … Read more

The first-person shooter genre will morph into more than just a run-and-gun experience, according Guerrilla Games senior producer Steven Ter Heide.

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Heide said he sees the first-person shooter genre "becoming broader." Instead of simply allowing gamers to work their way through missions through the same basic gameplay, he sees the market segment becoming more of an "action" genre in which the titles borrow concepts from other parts of the game industry to deliver more full-featured play.

"It'll expand, start borrowing things from other genres, like Borderlands did by bringing RPG [… Read more

We've already reported on findings that playing action video games may improve vision, and some studies indicate that video gamers even make better surgeons.

Now, researchers at the University of Rochester have found that first-person shooter players excel at probabilistic inference--that is, making fast, accurate decisions based on evidence extracted from their surroundings.

What's more, even those who don't normally play action video games improved their inference skills after being forced to play just 50 hours over those who don't play at all.

So are action video gamers better decision makers? The short answer appears … Read more

I won't join the chorus of pundits who've declared PC gaming "dead," but I will say it's pretty bereft of high-profile titles these days.

On the other hand, if you're into real-time strategy (RTS), there's absolutely no better platform than the PC. And many would argue that there's no better RTS experience than the Command & Conquer series.

Normally $29.95, Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight is now just $17.97 when you download it from the EA Store.

Is C&C 4 the best game in the series? In … Read more

Admit it: Ernie was always lovable enough, but Bert? That guy had it coming. In Puppet War:FPS, you're the janitor for a "Muppets"-style TV show. One day, for reasons unknown, the cute little critters run amok, apparently hell-bent on world domination. And because everyone else has apparently gone home for the day, it falls to you to stop them.

The game plays like a traditional first-person shooter, one that takes place in a colorful, kid-themed TV studio populated by endless hoards of hilarious-looking (but angry) puppets. You start with the janitor's weapon of choice: … Read more

Admit it: Ernie was always lovable enough, but Bert? That guy had it coming.

In Puppet War:FPS, you're the janitor for a "Muppets"-style TV show. One day, for reasons unknown, the cute little critters run amok, apparently hell-bent on world domination. And because everyone else has apparently gone home for the day, it falls to you to stop them.

The game plays like a traditional first-person shooter, one that takes place in a colorful, kid-themed TV studio populated by endless hoards of hilarious-looking (but angry) puppets.

You start with the janitor's weapon of choice: … Read more

As many of you have written to tell me, Steam is having a colossal sale on games this week (and through July 4). One of the real standouts: the Call of Duty Collection for $29.99.

That includes the original Call of Duty and its two expansion packs, United Offensive and World at War. You also get Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Given that the latter sells for $29.99 all by itself, it's like getting four bonus games free.

Other deals I'd definitely check out:

This week on preGAME we bring in fellow CNET editor Scott Stein to help us take a look at all the stealthy goodness Splinter Cell: Conviction has to offer. We'll chat with Scott about all the week's gaming news and check out a brand-new trailer for Gears of War 3, which is due out in April 2011.

Do you have a favorite first-person-shooter of all time? We'll run down a list of 10 titles--most of which should appear on your roster. Where do games like Half-Life 2 and Doom fall? You'll have to tune in to find out.

Also on today's show we'll chat about Hideo Kojima's recent comment about the inevitable death of the home console. Will these staples of the home theater ever become extinct?

We all know about Conan O'Brein's recent announcement that he's moving to TBS in November, but what would it have been like if he left TV altogether? We'll tell you about a story that had Coco flirting with an exclusive show on Xbox Live.

Finally, we'll discuss the age of the average gamer. Are we ever too old to be gaming? Are you ever embarrassed to play games in public? Tune in and join the discussion!… Read more